LIVING CHURCHYARDS

Minster Church, Boscastle - a new
SSSI for bats

Minster can claim
to have the most wonderful "natural" setting of
any church in Cornwall. The tranquillity and shelter that
drew St Merthiana to this spot centuries ago can still be
experienced today. No wonder then that in a hostile world
greater horseshoe bats have found sanctuary in this
church and its environs.

Greater
horseshoes have suffered more than most other bat species
from human activities. Changing land use, loss of
woodlands, diminished insect resources, disturbance and
destruction of roosts plus human persecution and
ignorance have resulted in dangerously low numbers. The
British population is estimated to have declined by 91
per cent since 1900 and this formerly widespread species
is now confined to South-West England. Listed as rare and
endangered in both Britain and Europe, it requires help
and protection to avoid further losses and its future
demise.

Greater
horseshoes have suffered more than most other bat species
from human activities. Changing land use, loss of
woodlands, diminished insect resources, disturbance and
destruction of roosts plus human persecution and
ignorance have resulted in dangerously low numbers. The
British population is estimated to have declined by 91
per cent since 1900 and this formerly widespread species
is now confined to South-West England. Listed as rare and
endangered in both Britain and Europe, it requires help
and protection to avoid further losses and its future
demise.

The colony at Minster represents the
largest known maternity roost in Cornwall and one of the largest
in the UK, but we are looking at only a small population. Our
monitoring records show that the highest number recorded has not
exceeded two hundred during the last nine years. This colony,
sustained by the high-quality habitat in the Valency Valley, is
also limited by its boundaries.

Recent decisions taken by the National
Trust to manage the valley and its farms in sympathy with these
bats, and the Farm Stewardship Schemes entered into by
neighbouring landowners, may in the long term create a larger
area for the greater horseshoes to forage in. If this occurs,
Minster may be the first colony of greater horseshoes in Cornwall
to show an increase in numbers.

SSSI status is a major recognition of
this site, reflecting the concerns and involvement of many people
during the last ten years. I would like to take this opportunity
to thank fellow bat workers in both the Devon and Cornwall Bat
Groups, the National Trust, English Nature and, in particular,
Pat Barnard, the Church Warden, who has worked so hard to
maintain the habitat around the church building and been an
unfailing champion of the bats at Minster.